Jeremiah 4:11
At that time shall it be said to this people and to Jerusalem, A dry wind of the high places in the wilderness toward the daughter of my people, not to fan, nor to cleanse, At that time shall it be said to this people and to Jerusalem, A dry wind of the high places in the wilderness toward the daughter of my people, not to fan, nor to cleanse,
At that time the word speaks of a harsh dry wind coming down from the wilderness heights against Israel and Jerusalem, called the daughter of my people, a wind meant to destroy and not a gentle breeze to fan, winnow or cleanse.
The winds are destructive winds of war and political strife and rivalry among the nations, out of which earthly kingdoms and rulers rise and fall.
What fell on ancient Jerusalem is a faint shadow of the greater desolation of the last days, when all nations are prepared for battle and face judgment in the great war of Armageddon before the day of the Lord.
After Christ comes the land lies desolate and without people, the wicked having been slain, so that during the thousand years Satan and his angels have no one left on earth to tempt.
The cause is unfaithfulness, for the daughter of Zion turns from God to the nations and her union with the world is adultery against Him, and the devastation foretold stands as example and warning to those living at the end of the ages.
Wind and Its Setting
The word for wind is roo-agh, and here it denotes a dry wind coming from the wilderness heights. It is harsh and destructive as it comes against Jerusalem and the people, not a breeze for fanning or winnowing and not a wind that refreshes or cleanses. As a figure of strife and war among nations, it portrays destructive winds of war and political feuds and rivalries that stir the nations and bring about the rise and fall of kingdoms and rulers. In this way it helps explain the winds in Daniel's vision as conflicts from which earthly world powers arise.
It is addressed to Israel, to this people and to Jerusalem, and concerns their coming destruction. It calls Jerusalem and God's people the daughter of my people, using the daughter-of-Zion or daughter-of-Jerusalem image for God's people. That image is a symbol of the true church.
In its immediate prophetic setting in Jeremiah 4:7-13, it belongs to the description of Babylon, the first of the world empires represented by Daniel's lion. It stands among prophecies whose meaning is very clear in awful denunciation against sin. Spoken in sorrow of heart over transgression, it makes a most touching appeal to return to God that meets utter lack of response from the mass of the people.
War and End-Time Desolation
The dry wind is not a gentle breeze for fanning, winnowing, refreshing or cleansing, but a harsh and destructive blast of strife and war among the nations. It portrays political feuds and rivalries that stir the nations and bring about the rise and fall of kingdoms and rulers. In this way it explains the winds in Daniel's vision as conflicts from which earthly world powers arise. The verse belongs to God's repeated prediction of the great coming war of Armageddon and the time before the day of the Lord. Then all the nations of the earth shall be prepared for battle and face judgment, a preparation that stirs boasting and aggressiveness and, carried to the ultimate, means the destruction of earthly kingdoms.
The destruction then threatened against Israel and Jerusalem is a faint shadow of the greater desolation of the last days. The language about Jerusalem and Zion applies to the church through the ages, and in its end-time fulfillment it describes the wickedness that will bring Jehovah's personal visitation in destruction at Christ's second coming. That ancient judgment on Israel stands as an example and warning for people living at the end of the ages. After Christ's coming the land is shown desolate and without people, when the wicked have been slain, so that during the thousand years no one remains on earth for Satan and his angels to tempt. It is the awful confusion and trouble that come upon the earth when people are no longer worthy of God's favor and God sets them aside, so that the earth is counted as destroyed or rejected until God creates new heavens and a new earth.
Unfaithfulness and Final Warning
The daughter of Zion and Jerusalem stand as a figure for God's people and the true church. That daughter turns away from God toward the nations and the world, and in so doing becomes unfaithful and corrupt. Union of God's church with the world is fornication and adultery against God.
The wind spoken of is harsh and destructive, coming against Jerusalem and the people, not a wind that refreshes or cleanses. That warning of devastation bears upon widespread corruption in the cities and upon the destruction that comes when God visits evil at the end of time. The language about Jerusalem and Zion holds through the ages for the church, and in its end-time fulfillment it describes the wickedness that brings Jehovah's personal visitation in destruction at Christ's second coming. The ancient judgment on Israel stands as example and warning for those living at the end of the ages.